I had a little look back at the stats of first half of last year to see what it was that you liked best and thought it would be fun to revisit three  popular posts:

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 Ellie Malin in Studio. Photo: Kate Ballis courtesy of Modern Times 

I first discovered Melbourne print media artist, Ellie Malin’s work through “that” collaboration  she did with Gorman early last year. I was awe struck by her ever so cool, bold edgy style and interesting use of woodblock as a medium. Her latest body of work, Moonflower is even more impressive. It has a beautiful harmony of colours, it’s graphic, playing with form that ignites our imaginations, all the while stamped with Ellie’s distinctive style. I’ve been meaning to get in contact with her for some time, so when I received her newsletter with word of her very first solo exhibition at Modern Times in Melbourne at the end of last year, while I couldn’t hop on a plane myself to view it first hand, I took the opportunity to ask her a few questions. I hope that you enjoy her answers, along with a selection of her latest work as much I do.

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I had a load of Sicilian olives left over from a huge amount I bought around Christmas so I thought it to be the perfect opportunity to make some tapenade. Seeing how delicious it is homemade and how simple it is to do, I won’t wait until I have a stockpile of olives next time. There are so many uses for tapenade; bruschetta, on baked fish, smeared over steak to barbeque, mixed with chopped tomatoes, fresh basil and parmesan over spaghetti… but I always enjoy it best simply with some crusty bread.

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I really enjoy these simple getaways that we’ve been doing since we arrived in New Zealand. We hire a basic bach (holiday house or weekender for the non Kiwis), with no TV or mod cons in sight. It’s always situated in a picturesque location and at times with a great view. We pass the days together ever so simply.

Read more on A Getaway to Tapapakanga Regional Park…

Hello twenty fourteen indeed! I hope that you all had a great festive season. New Years Eve was celebrated during our week away in the Tapapakanga Regional Park. Guillaume and I put the children to bed, popped open a bottle of champagne and sat outside under the perfect clear night sky looking at the bright stars with the moon just the tiniest of a slither. I saw two shooting stars that night, the first that I’ve seen since I was living in Greece so many years ago. Kind of a perfect sign for the new year don’t you think?

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